Beefy Mac 'n Cheese
Back in the day, mom knew a lot of people that got government cheese. Yes, it's joke, but it was good stuff - not quite like the velveeta blocks you get today, but very similar. We'd also get those big boxes of elbow macaroni from the same people. I never did understand the purpose of giving away good food, but who knows...all I know is that we had big pots of hamburger mac n cheese a lot. It was going to be a good saturday when we got that stuff. And to the people who thought it was beneath them to make stuff from it, you don't know what you were missing.
This makes a macaroni and cheese unlike that which you get normally. It's sweeter from the cream and a lot cheesier.
1 block of "Velveeta" style process cheese. Pretty much every house brand I've tried has worked fine.
1 small block of something like swiss, or a small bag of shredded mixed "Italian" style cheeses.
1 pint cream (I use heavy, whole milk will work as well)
1 half stick of unsalted butter
3 cups (dry) small elbow macaroni
1-2 pounds ground beef
Salt, pepper, etc.
A decent size (6-8 cup) double boiler, as well as skillets, pots, spoons, etc.
Cube the block of cheese and put in a double boiler with butter and maybe 2/3 of the cream. Start melting this before you cook the macaroni. This will take some time, but it will slowly start to melt and you can fold in the rest of the cream. You want a thick consistency that runs off the spoon but doesn't leave chunks of cheese behind. You may need more cream or milk depending on how dry your cheeses are, add until you get something that could easily pour over the macaroni. Note that some cheeses are grainy when melted, or may have overpowering flavors. Use your judgement, the "velveeta" style cheses tend to not have a strong flavor so whatever you add in will probably be the flavor you get. If your boiler isn't big enough, add more cheese as the rest melts.
When the cheese is melted, reduce the heat and keep the cheese stirred. Add more water to the boiler portion of your pan, since it's probably getting low.
Cook the macaroni. Drain it. Do I need to tell you how to do this? Don't wash them when done, you remove the starch, and we want that to hold the cheese.
At the same time, start cooking your ground beef (sausage, pork, chorizo, whatever you like.) Season lightly - your cheeses are already salty so you don't need much of that. I usually add a little pepper, maybe some soy sauce, and a sprinkle of MSG (gasp!) Drain the beef when cooked.
Put the cooked macaroni and beef into a big serving bowl and mix. Dump the melted cheese over the mixture and stir until well mixed. Serve immediately.
This makes big "I'm hungry mom!" servings. If you have any leftovers, make sure to stir well and divide it into portions before putting into the fridge - it just makes it easier to reheat because the cheese will turn into a block of melted cheese at the bottom of your bowl when chilled. Well, that is, if you have any left over!